Life took me in a different direction; new job, wedding, house, etc. Finally have a bit of downtime and getting back into the swing of things. I have seen your '97 here and there. Looks like I have some reading to do.
NachoPitt's 1999 Build/Maintenance Thread
- Thread starter NachoPitt
- Start date
Life took me in a different direction; new job, wedding, house, etc. Finally have a bit of downtime and getting back into the swing of things. I have seen your '97 here and there. Looks like I have some reading to do.
BigFishAllDay
New member
Well then I guess some congratulations are in order, so....
CONGRATULATIONS!!! I know how busy all that stuff can keep you. So I guess a baby is next on the list, huh?
I'm curious where you've been spotting me in the '97. I keep an eye out for other 3rd gens and I'd know yours if I saw it... but I haven't.
CONGRATULATIONS!!! I know how busy all that stuff can keep you. So I guess a baby is next on the list, huh?
I'm curious where you've been spotting me in the '97. I keep an eye out for other 3rd gens and I'd know yours if I saw it... but I haven't.
shootmymime
New member
W/ 204K miles, when are you going to do the TB/WP?
My last sighting was a while back but I did see you from time to time around Comanche/I-25 in the evenings. Even in a sea of 4runners around here, your truck(s) stands out.
A baby at this point would probably be too much - We have a pretty awesome dog who likes hiking and fishing and an excellent garage cat. Having a wedding and trying to buy a house at the same time is tough enough without a baby around.
Thanks Ripcord for providing the space and the tools! Sorry about dumping the front diff on your droplight too. I took the seals and third member gasket home on accident. PM me and I will meet up with you to give you those parts.
Thanks! Great to see what you have done with your truck. Good to be back. I have some new ideas I can't wait to try.
Great to meet you as well! You have a great looking rig - we need to find sometime and get the local guys here and head to the puerco or east mountains for a day. Would be a great fun!
Glad that you could use the info - I am happy to help if you get stuck. Go slow and mark and photograph everything. Should be pretty smooth. No leaks on my since then.
Sooner rather than later. The truck runs fine, I am not very hard on it and drive like an old man (saves gas, prevents accidents, etc. etc.) I have quotes from a couple of shops. I was planning on 205K but if it is 206, it will be fine. All my services will line up at 205k - complete fluid change, tire rotation, TB/WP, etc. Should be fine mechanically after that.
BigFishAllDay
New member
Yup, that was me. I pass through that intersection on my way home from work, or to work from home. Considering that I have a baby of my own now, I know exactly what you mean... she's a handful. You should enjoy some time with your Wife as a married couple before you even think about kids... My Wife and I had a few years pre-kiddo, and it was great.
Quick update truck related - Thursday morning I was bleeding the brakes and checked the ABS sensors - looks like I forgot to tighten the 10mm bolt on the sensor and it was just kinda put in the hole. After tightening the bolt, the ABS light went out.
The truck drives great - a little more umph off the line (like I would notice with my old man style of driving) and 4wd engages smoothly. I am about ready to wire up the switch for the locker.
The truck drives great - a little more umph off the line (like I would notice with my old man style of driving) and 4wd engages smoothly. I am about ready to wire up the switch for the locker.
Nate, do you happen to have the exact part number(s) for those Autozone 1/4" spacers you are running in the front only for your TBU with the 13WE (199mm) calipers? And might you happen to know whether those same 1/4" spacers would also fit properly with the 13WL (231mm) calipers?
Did you have to remove the trailer hitch from your 4Runner to get the 285/75/16 to fit under the rear bumper?
And do you still have the stock factory oem rear bumper? Or have you replaced that and installed any sort of aftermarket rear bumper?
Do you notice any interference with the SS adjustable panhard bar?
JBurt
Senior Member
Quarter inch spacers work just fine with the 231mm brakes and the 6 spoke wheels. One thing to remember with quarter inch spacers is that your lug nuts don't have very good engagement, which means putting wheels back on is a pita plus some people say your wheel will sheer off (I've never seen a first hand account though). You can put in longer studs. Can't remember which ones are compatible though. If I remember I'll post it up.
Sadly, not yet. Due to lack of time - all of the parts work and look great. Thanks again! I have a wrenching weekend coming up and the wiring is first on the list.
I have some new spacers I can send your way - I only needed two and the guys at autozone gave me 4. They are just the generic spacers that they stock. I would highly, highly, highly recommend that you go with longer studs. They are easy to install and give you enough thread engagement to properly seat the lug. It also makes putting the wheel on about 1000 times easier as you have some studs to hang the wheel off of while you thread the lugnuts. The rear studs from our 3rd gen 4runners should work fine - just ask for one of the front and one of the rear at the counter and compare.
As for the 6 spokes and the 231s I don't know for sure. My experience is that the 199s fit fine with my 6 spokes. When I went to the FJZ80 wheels, I had to install the 1/4" spacer. I upgraded again a few weeks ago to 231s (long story, upcoming for the thread) and again needed the same 1/4" spacer. I still have the FJZ80 wheels.
The spare tire was kinda interesting. I need all the interior room I can get and wasn't going to tote around the spare in the cargo area. I garage my truck every night and I couldn't get it in the garage with a spare on the room. I might have gone with a tire carrier on the rear but I am still undecided on that.
I work buy a bunch of used tire shops and picked up a used 285/75/16, mounted and balanced for $25. The tire is really worn and has maybe a few hundred miles left in it - but hey it's a spare. I have certificates on my other 4 tires so I am not too worried about replacements of them if something happens. I deflated the tire down to around 12 PSI and with the help of a pry bar and years of squats, wiggled and pressed the tire up into the spare space. I was able to get it down and back up (as a test) and my superflow pump inflates it just fine. Everything back there - from the hitch, bumper and factory spare winch are all in place. There are some frame supports that could be cut to make it seat higher but you would want to add some additional supports if you did that. I didn't and don't really care as it hangs down maybe an inch lower than the stock spare. I have cycled the suspension quite a bit and have no interference with the SS panhard bar.
Totally agree and tell anyone considering the slip spacers to get longer studs. It is a ton of work to wrangle a wheel on with the stock studs and a spacer, not to mention the safety issue of the thread engagement.
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thanks, I'll send PP now for those LX450 coils
Update (Finally)!
Leaky 199s were replaced with new 231s. After bleeding and bedding these stop better than the 199s
New parts! What's not to love about a $5 brake upgrade?!?!?!
Installed! Fluid on tires is from the leaky caliper. If you have this situation, replace/fix immediately. DO NOT DRIVE AROUND LIKE THIS!
I also pulled the 8 wraps that I had in the back in favor of some 7.5s. The difference was subtle but did lower the rake. The springs have since settled and there is a little less rake. I don't usually have too much stuff with me and they suit my driving just fine. Even loaded these work just fine. I lost about .5 of an inch hub to fender by swapping springs.
Stereo System
I also decided to add a bit of entertainment to the replace what Toyota installed 14 years ago. I needed a stereo with bluetooth capabilities as I tend to be on the phone a lot for work while driving. I picked up a pioneer double DIN stereo from amazon and a self amplified bazooka tube from craigslist ($40!). Install was very easy and it plays Slayer, Danzig and Ellie Goulding just fine.
Crappy cellphone pic but the install was clean. I mounted the mic on the scanguage that I have on the steering column. Most people can't tell it's speakerphone, even at highway speeds.
The PO must have had an amp in here at some point as I had always noticed a power wire off the battery. I found it terminated under the drivers seat. I shortened it and added a 6 bus fuse block in the drivers kick panel to run some auxiliary electronics, the stereo being one of them.
I also did the Taco whip mod at the same time. My power antenna worked fine (I had replaced it with an OEM assembly when I first got the truck). I got tired of listening to the motor go up and
down all the time when I turned the truck on or off. I got the base from a Tacoma at U-Pull&Pay for about $2.50. I got an OEM antenna from the dealership (I really just wanted that cool little plastic wrench that came with it). No more noise and radio reception is about the same.
I am still getting pretty good mileage. This was at a recent fillup (scanguage is set to compensate for the 285s). This is a mix of city, highway and some very light wheeling. Not too bad. I have gotten 21mpg on a pure highway trip (crossing to Arizona with no wind). You can kinda see the pioneer mic mounted off the side of the scanguage.
Other Maintenance
Currently the truck is undergoing some maintenance. Timing belt and waterpump needed to be done. I am also having the radiator replaced as well as the hoses. Got the parts from eBay (cabinairman) and the local dealership. I thought long and hard about doing this myself. I talked with BigFishAllDay about it and he recommended his local shop so they have my truck for today. It would take me all weekend to do what they could do in a day. I am a bit busy now with work and moving so it was a no-brainer.
I have been having fits with my e-locker motor so that is up next on my mod list. I am also determined to fix my speedo so it reads correctly (and I can assign that scangauge function to something else!). UrbanAssault has been great with his write up and help.
Miscellaneous Update
This thread is long overdue for an update. After the diff swap with Ripcord, I noticed that my front calipers were leaking. I had been running the 199s for about 18 months and would notice a spongy pedal intermittently. Upon closer examination, I found on of the seals on the passenger side to be leaking. I originally purchased them at Autozone. I called the manager there (we are on a first name basis at this point) for a refund and he was cool enough to allow me to upgrade to the 231s provided I pay the difference between the two pairs of calipers ($5). I bought a set of OEM pads and shims from the dealership and did a "Second" TBU in about 2 hours. Leaky 199s were replaced with new 231s. After bleeding and bedding these stop better than the 199s
New parts! What's not to love about a $5 brake upgrade?!?!?!
Installed! Fluid on tires is from the leaky caliper. If you have this situation, replace/fix immediately. DO NOT DRIVE AROUND LIKE THIS!
Rear Springs
I also pulled the 8 wraps that I had in the back in favor of some 7.5s. The difference was subtle but did lower the rake. The springs have since settled and there is a little less rake. I don't usually have too much stuff with me and they suit my driving just fine. Even loaded these work just fine. I lost about .5 of an inch hub to fender by swapping springs.
Stereo System
I also decided to add a bit of entertainment to the replace what Toyota installed 14 years ago. I needed a stereo with bluetooth capabilities as I tend to be on the phone a lot for work while driving. I picked up a pioneer double DIN stereo from amazon and a self amplified bazooka tube from craigslist ($40!). Install was very easy and it plays Slayer, Danzig and Ellie Goulding just fine.
Crappy cellphone pic but the install was clean. I mounted the mic on the scanguage that I have on the steering column. Most people can't tell it's speakerphone, even at highway speeds.
The PO must have had an amp in here at some point as I had always noticed a power wire off the battery. I found it terminated under the drivers seat. I shortened it and added a 6 bus fuse block in the drivers kick panel to run some auxiliary electronics, the stereo being one of them.
I also did the Taco whip mod at the same time. My power antenna worked fine (I had replaced it with an OEM assembly when I first got the truck). I got tired of listening to the motor go up and
down all the time when I turned the truck on or off. I got the base from a Tacoma at U-Pull&Pay for about $2.50. I got an OEM antenna from the dealership (I really just wanted that cool little plastic wrench that came with it). No more noise and radio reception is about the same.
I am still getting pretty good mileage. This was at a recent fillup (scanguage is set to compensate for the 285s). This is a mix of city, highway and some very light wheeling. Not too bad. I have gotten 21mpg on a pure highway trip (crossing to Arizona with no wind). You can kinda see the pioneer mic mounted off the side of the scanguage.
Other Maintenance
Currently the truck is undergoing some maintenance. Timing belt and waterpump needed to be done. I am also having the radiator replaced as well as the hoses. Got the parts from eBay (cabinairman) and the local dealership. I thought long and hard about doing this myself. I talked with BigFishAllDay about it and he recommended his local shop so they have my truck for today. It would take me all weekend to do what they could do in a day. I am a bit busy now with work and moving so it was a no-brainer.
I have been having fits with my e-locker motor so that is up next on my mod list. I am also determined to fix my speedo so it reads correctly (and I can assign that scangauge function to something else!). UrbanAssault has been great with his write up and help.
JBurt
Senior Member
Sweet updates. That brake upgrade was an awesome deal.
When you put in the new stereo did you connect the antenna in the rear? A lot of guys forget that. I put my power antenna on a switch and never use it. The rear window antenna works fine for the stations I listen to.
Any chance you want to sell your power antenna mast?
When you put in the new stereo did you connect the antenna in the rear? A lot of guys forget that. I put my power antenna on a switch and never use it. The rear window antenna works fine for the stations I listen to.
Any chance you want to sell your power antenna mast?
I really lucked out on that. It worked out just fine in the end - the new calipers are a great upgrade from the 199s.
I did use a y-cable when I installed the new stereo. I grabbed it off of ebay for a couple of bucks and it works great.
PM sent on the antenna.
Timing belt and water pump service are done. I had the radiator replaced, along with hoses at the same time. I was kinda bummed to find that the shop used Prestone coolant rather than the Toyota red or similar. My 4runner must have felt the same way because about 7 miles from the shop the truck decided to blow the upper radiator hose off the inlet.
I have heard of this happening with other vehicles but not these. I guess there was a massive air bubble in the system that forced it off? Temps climbed pretty quick on my scanguage and I was able to pull over and shut it off quickly. I reattached the hose, added distilled water and made it back to the shop - no small feat in the middle of a heavy downpour at 10 at night. Note to self: Do a better test drive after leaving shop.
At the shop the next day I had them put Zerex back in the system. They added a worm clamp to keep the hose on. About 70 miles so far and it is fine. It does run warmer than it did before the service. It wouldn't get over 202f in heavy traffic, after a 3/4 throttle pull up a steep street, with A/C. Now I have seen 207 without A/C. Any ideas why it would be warmer? Radiator is a Koyo, OEM everything else. I am thinking about some water wetter just to make myself feel better.
I have heard of this happening with other vehicles but not these. I guess there was a massive air bubble in the system that forced it off? Temps climbed pretty quick on my scanguage and I was able to pull over and shut it off quickly. I reattached the hose, added distilled water and made it back to the shop - no small feat in the middle of a heavy downpour at 10 at night. Note to self: Do a better test drive after leaving shop.
At the shop the next day I had them put Zerex back in the system. They added a worm clamp to keep the hose on. About 70 miles so far and it is fine. It does run warmer than it did before the service. It wouldn't get over 202f in heavy traffic, after a 3/4 throttle pull up a steep street, with A/C. Now I have seen 207 without A/C. Any ideas why it would be warmer? Radiator is a Koyo, OEM everything else. I am thinking about some water wetter just to make myself feel better.
